Golf course

ABSTRACT

A golf course ( 100/200 ) comprising a series of tee-areas T( 1 )-T( 18 ), each containing a golf tee and a series of green-areas G( 1 )-G( 18 ), each containing a golf hole. The tee-areas and the green-areas defining a first set of sequential fairway paths F 1 ( 1 )-F1( 18 ) between each tee-area and a target green-area in a first direction. The tee-areas and the green-areas also defining a second set of sequential fairway paths F 2 ( 1 )-F 2 ( 18 ) between each tee-area and a target green-area in a second opposite direction. A first golf game may be played along the first set of fairway paths (e.g., clockwise) and a second golf game may be played along the second set of fairway paths (e.g., counterclockwise).

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority under 35U.S.C. §120 to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/764,332 filed onJan. 23, 2004 which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/534,430 filed on Jan. 6, 2004. Theentire disclosure of these earlier applications are hereby incorporatedby reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally, as indicated, to a golf course and,more particularly, to a golf course comprising a series of tee areas anda series of green areas which define a sequential series of fairwaypaths therebetween.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A golf course commonly comprising a series (e.g., eighteen) of tee-areaseach containing a golf tee and a series (e.g., eighteen) of green-areaseach containing a golf hole. The tee-areas and the green-areas areseparated by fairways. When driving a golf ball from a tee-area to thecorresponding green area, a fairway path can be defined therebetween.Accordingly, the golf course can be viewed as comprising a sequentialseries of fairway paths, each path being defined by the route between aparticular tee-area and its corresponding target green-area. Whenplaying a game of golf, the golfer starts at the first tee-area andsequentially travels through the fairway paths to reach the lastgreen-area (e.g., the eighteenth hole). Golfers typically enjoy playingat different courses during a golfing season as the challenge ofchanging courses adds to the enjoyment of the game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a golf course which allows two differentgames of golf to be played on the same golf course at different times.Thus, a golfer could play one game of golf on a first day and thenreturn the following day to play a completely different game of golf onthe same golf course. Such a golf course design may find specialapplication where land is at a premium, as it requires only one piece ofland while still providing the challenge of two different golf games.

More particularly, the present invention provides a golf coursecomprising a series of tee-areas each containing a golf tee and a seriesof green-areas each containing a golf hole. The tee-areas and thegreen-areas define a first set of sequential fairway paths between eachtee-area and a target green-area in a first direction (e.g., clockwise).The tee-areas and the green-areas also define a second set of sequentialfairway paths between each tee-area and a target green-area in a secondopposite direction (e.g., counterclockwise). A first golf game may beplayed along the first set of fairway paths (e.g., clockwise) and asecond golf game may be played along the second set of fairway paths(e.g., counterclockwise).

These and other features of the invention are fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description anddrawings set forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of theinvention which are indicative of but a few of the various ways in whichthe principles of the invention may be employed.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a golf course 100 according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a view of the golf course 100, with a first set of fairwaypaths being shown.

FIG. 3 is a view of the golf course 100, with a second set of fairwaypaths being shown.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a golf course 200 according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a view of the golf course 200, with a first set of fairwaypaths being shown.

FIG. 6 is a view of the golf course 200, with a second set of fairwaypaths being shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings and initially to FIG. 1, a golf course 100according to the present invention is shown. The golf course 100comprises a series of tee-areas T, each containing a golf tee, and aseries of green-areas G, each containing a hole. The illustrated golfcourse 100 is an eighteen-hole course whereby it includes eighteentee-areas T(1)-T(18) and eighteen green-areas G(1)-G(18). That beingsaid, the present invention could easily be modified to accommodate adifferent sized golf course (e.g., nine-hole, eighteen-hole, thirty-sixhole, etc.) by increasing or decreasing the tee-areas and thegreen-areas.

The golf course 100 occupies a piece of land which may be viewed ashaving a central region 102 and a perimeter region 104. The centralregion 102 is a non-course area (i.e., does not form part of the golfcourse 100). Practice greens 106, parking lots 108, driving ranges 110,club houses 112, and/or tennis courts 114 may be located in the centralregion 104.

The tee-areas T(1)-T(18) and the green-areas G(1)-G(18) occupy theperimeter region 104. Hazards and stake-out boundaries may also occupythe perimeter region 104 to enhance the character and/or the complexityof the game. For example, sand traps 120 are positioned aboutgreen-areas G(1) and G(2), and green-areas G(4) and G(5) and waterway122 borders green-areas G(10) through G(16). Green-area G(9) is locatedon an island in the waterway 122 and tee-area T(16) is located onanother island in the waterway 122. Roads 124 into the central region102 can also pass through the perimeter region 104.

In the illustrated embodiment, each tee-area T is roughly radiallyaligned with a green area G. Specifically, the first tee area T(1) isroughly radially aligned with the eighteenth green-area G(18) and theother tee-areas T(2)-T(18) are roughly radially aligned respectively,with the green-areas G(1) through G(17). Some of the tee-areas (T(1),T(4), T(6), T(7), T(9), T(10), T(11), T(12), T(13), and T(15)) arepositioned radially inward from the green-areas (G(18), G(3), G(5),G(6), G(8), G(9), G(10), G(11), G(12) and G(14)) with which they areroughly radially aligned; some of the tee-areas (T(2), T(3), T(5), T(8),T(14), T(16), T(17), and T(18)) are positioned radially outward fromtheir aligned green-areas (G(1), G(2), G(4), G(7), G(13), G(15), G(16),and G(17)).

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the tee-areas T(1)-T(18) and thecorresponding green areas G(1)-G(18) are separated by fairways. As shownin FIG. 2, a first set of sequential fairway paths F1(1)-F1(18) can bedefined between each tee-area and a target hole-area in the clockwisedirection. Specifically, the first set of fairway paths wouldsequentially comprise the paths defined by T(1) to G(1), T(2) to G(2),T(3) to G(3), T(4) to G(4), T(5) to G(5), T(6) to G(6), T(7) to G(7),T(8) to G(8), T(9) to G(9), T(10) to G(10), T(11) to G(11), T(12) toG(12), T(13) to G(13), T(14) to G(14), T(15) to G(15), T(16) to G(16),T(17) to G(17), and T(18) to G(18). As shown in FIG. 3, a second set ofsequential fairway paths F2(1)-F2(18) can be defined between eachtee-area and a target hole-area in the counterclockwise direction.Specifically, the second set of fairway paths would sequentiallycomprise the paths defined T(1) to G(17), T(18) to G(16), T(17) toG(15), T(16) to G(14), T(15) to G(13), T(14) to G(12), T(13) to G(11),T(12) to G(10), T(11) to G(9), T(10) to G(8), T(9) to G(7), T(8) toG(6), T(7) to G(5), T(6) to G(4), T(5) to G(3), T(4) to G(2), T(3) to(G1), and T(2) to (G18).

Two sets of sequential fairway paths can be defined depending on whetherthe golf course 100 is being played in a first (e.g., clockwise)direction or a second (e.g. counterclockwise) direction. In this manner,two different games of golf to be played on the same golf course atdifferent times. Thus, a golfer could play one game of golf on a firstday and then return the following day to play a completely differentgame of golf on the same golf course. The golf club (or otherestablishment) could, for example, designate certain times of the day,certain days of the week or month, or certain weeks of the season whenthe golf course 100 is played in the first direction (FIG. 2), with thegolf course 100 being played in the second direction (FIG. 3) during theremaining time periods.

In any event, a completely different golf game is provided dependingupon whether one is playing in the first direction of the seconddirection. For example, in FIG. 2 the fairway between the eighteentee-area T(18) and the eighteenth green area G(18) occupies theapproximately the same section of land as the fairway between the firsttee-area T(1) and the seventeenth green area G(17) (FIG. 3). However,when playing in the first direction (FIG. 2), the shot from the eighteentee-area T(18) to the eighteenth green area G(18) is somewhatcomplicated (e.g., par 5). At the same time, when playing in the seconddirection (FIG. 3), the shot from the first tee-area T(1) to theseventeenth hole G(17) would be relatively simply (e.g., par 3). The“signature hole” for the golf course 100 could be one hole (e.g., G(17))when the game is being played in the first direction (e.g., clockwise)and could be another hole (e.g., G(12)) when the game is being played inthe second direction (e.g., counterclockwise).

Referring now to FIGS. 4-6, another golf course 200 according to thepresent invention is shown. The golf course 200 is similar to the golfcourse 100 and it comprises a series of tee-areas T(1)-T(18), eachcontaining a golf tee, and a series of green-areas G(1)-G(18), eachcontaining a hole. The golf course 200 occupies a piece of land whichmay be viewed as having a central region 202 and a perimeter region 204.The central region 202 is a non-course area (i.e., does not form part ofthe golf course 200) and is shown with a club house 212. The tee-areasT(1)-T(18) and the green-areas G(1)-G(18) occupy the perimeter region104, which surrounds the central non-course region 202 in ahorseshoe-like shape. In this manner, the road 224 to the clubhouse 212need not intersect the gold course 200. Hazards and stake-out boundariesmay also occupy the perimeter region 204 to enhance the character and/orthe complexity of the game.

As shown in FIG. 5, a first set of sequential fairway paths F1(1)-F1(18)can be defined between each tee-area and a target hole-area in theclockwise direction. Specifically, the first set of fairway paths wouldsequentially comprise the paths defined by T(1) to G(1), T(2) to G(2),T(3) to G(3), T(4) to G(4), T(5) to G(5), T(6) to G(6), T(7) to G(7),T(8) to G(8), T(9) to G(9), T(10) to G(10), T(11) to G(11), T(12) toG(12), T(13) to G(13), T(14) to G(14), T(15) to G(15), T(1 6) to G(1 6),T(17) to G(17), and T(18) to G(18). As shown in FIG. 6, a second set ofsequential fairway paths F2(1)-F2(18) can be defined between eachtee-area and a target hole-area in the counterclockwise direction.Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the second set of fairway paths wouldsequentially comprise the paths defined T(1) to G(17), T(18) to G(16),T(17) to G(15), T(16) to G(14), T(15) to G(13), T(14) to G(12), T(13) toG(11), T(12) to G(10), T(11) to G(9), T(10) to G(8), T(8) to G(7), T(9)to G(6), T(7) to G(5), T(6) to G(4), T(5) to G(3), T(4) to G(2), T(3) to(G1), and T(2) to (G18). Thus, two sets of sequential fairway paths canbe defined depending on whether the golf course 200 is being played in afirst (e.g., clockwise) direction or a second (e.g. counterclockwise)direction.

In the illustrated golf courses 100 and 200, the first tee-area T(1) isthe initial tee-area and the eighteenth hole-area G(18) is the finalhole-area regardless of whether the first golf game is being played inthe first direction or the second golf game is being played in thesecond direction. Other arrangements are possible with, and contemplatedby, the present invention. For example, the initial tee-area for thefirst golf game (i.e., when the course 100/200 is being played in thefirst direction) could be nine fairways removed from the initialtee-area for the second golf game (i.e., when the course 100/200 isbeing played in the second direction). Also in the illustrated golfcourses 100 and 200, some of the fairway paths in the first set offairway paths intersect with some of the fairway paths in the second setof fairway paths and some do not. That being said, it may be possibleand/or desirable to construct the golf course 100/200 so that all ornone of the fairway paths in the first set intersect with the fairwaypaths in the second set.

One may now appreciate the present invention provides a golf course100/200 which allows two different games of golf to be played on thesame golf course at different times. Although the invention has beenshown and described with respect to certain preferred embodiments, it isobvious that equivalent and obvious alterations and modifications willoccur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding ofthis specification. The present invention includes all such alterationsand modifications and is limited only by the scope of the followingclaims.

1. A golf course comprising a series of tee-areas T(1)-T(N) each containing a golf tee, and a series of green-areas G(1)-G(N) each containing a golf hole; the tee-areas T(1)-T(N) and the green-areas G(1)-G(N) defining a first set of sequential fairway paths F1(1)-F1(N), between each of the tee-area T(1)-(TN) and a target one of the green-areas G(1)-G(N), with each of the green-areas G(1)-G(N) defining one of the first set of fairway paths F1(1)-F1(N); and the tee-areas T(1)-T(N) and the green-areas G(1)-G(N) also defining a second set of sequential fairway paths F2(1)-F2(N) between each of the tee-area T(1)-(TN) and a target one of the green-areas G(1)-G(N) in a second opposite direction, with each of the green-areas G(1)-G(N) defining one of the first set of fairway paths F1(1)-F1(N); the tee-areas T(1)-T(N) and the green areas G(1)-G(N) being positioned so that the first set of fairway paths F1(1)-F1(N) do not intersect with any of the tee-areas T(1)-T(N) and wherein the second set of fairway paths F2(1)-F2(N) do not intersect with any of the tee-areas T(1)-T(N); whereby a first golf game may be played sequentially along the first set of fairway paths F1(1)-F1(N) and a second golf game may be played sequentially along the second set of fairway paths F2(1)-F2(N).
 2. A golf course as set forth in claim 1 wherein the first set of fairway paths comprise the paths defined by T(1) to G(1), T(2) to G(2) . . . T(N) to G(N); and wherein the second set of fairway paths comprise the paths defined by T(1) to G(N-1), T(N) to G(N-2), T(N-1) to G(N-3) . . . T(2) to G(N).
 3. A golf course as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first direction is clockwise and the second direction is counterclockwise.
 4. A golf course as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first tee area T(1) is roughly radially aligned with the last green-area G(N) and other tee-areas T(2)-T(N) are roughly radially aligned respectively, with the green-areas G(1)-G(N-1).
 5. A golf course as set forth in claim 4, wherein at least some of the tee-areas T(1)-T(N) are positioned radially inward from the green-areas G(1)-G(N) with which they are roughly radially aligned.
 6. A golf course as set forth in claim 4, wherein at least some of the tee-areas T(1)-T(N) are positioned radially outward from the green-areas G(1)-G(N) with which they are roughly radially aligned.
 7. A golf course as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first tee-area T(1) is the initial tee-area and the last green-area G(N) is the final green-area regardless of whether the first golf game is being played in the first direction or the second golf game is being played in the second direction.
 8. A golf course as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tee-areas comprise eighteen tee-areas T(1)-T(18), the green-areas comprise eighteen hole areas G(1) - G(18); wherein the first set of fairway paths comprise the paths defined by T(1) to G(1), T(2) to G(2), T(3) to G(3), T(4) to G(4), T(5) to G(5), T(6) to G(6), T(7) to G(7), T(8) to G(8), T(9) to G(9), T(10) to G(10), T(11) to G(11), T(12) to G(12), T(13) to G(13), T(14) to G(14), T(15) to G(15), T(16) to G(16), T(17) to G(17), and T(18) to G(18); wherein the second set of fairway paths comprise the paths defined by T(1) to G(17), T(18) to G(16), T(17) to G(15), T(16) to G(14), T(15) to G(13), T(14) to G(12), T(13) to G(11), T(12) to G(10), T(11) to G(9), T(10) to G(8), T(9) to G(7), T(8) to G(6), T(7) to G(5), T(6) to G(4), T(5) to G(3), T(4) to G(2), T(3) to G(1), and T(2) to G(18).
 9. A golf course as set forth in claim 8, wherein the first direction is clockwise and the second direction is counterclockwise.
 10. A golf course as set forth in claim 8, wherein the first tee area T(1) is roughly radially aligned with the green-area G(18) and other tee-areas T(2)-T(18) are roughly radially aligned respectively, with the green-areas G(1)-G(N-1).
 11. A golf course as set forth in claim 10, wherein at least some of the tee-areas T(1)-T(18) are positioned radially inward from the green-areas G(1)-G(18) with which they are roughly radially aligned.
 12. A golf course as set forth in claim 10, wherein at least some of the tee-areas T(1)-T(18) are positioned radially outward from the green-areas G(1)-G(N) with which they are roughly radially aligned.
 13. A golf course as set forth in claim 8, wherein the first tee-area T(1) is the initial tee-area and the last green-area G(18) is the final green-area regardless of whether the first golf game is being played in the first direction or the second golf game is being played in the second direction.
 14. A golf course as set forth in claim 8, wherein the tee-areas T(1)-T(18) and the green-areas G(1)-G(18) are arranged in a perimeter region in a donut-like manner.
 15. A golf course as set forth in claim 8, wherein the tee-areas T(1)-T(18) and the green-areas G(1)-G(18) are arranged in a perimeter region in a horse-shoe-like manner.
 16. A golf course as set forth in claim 8, wherein the tee-areas T(1)-T(18) and the green-areas G(1)-G(18) are arranged around a non-course area.
 17. A golf course as set forth in claim 14, wherein a club house, a parking lot, a practice green, and/or a tennis court are located on the central non-course area. 